Asda has today unveiled three transformation suggestions as part of its continuous initiatives to enhance the shopping experience for customers and promote long-term sustainable growth.
The grocery store is considering changing the overnight shifts for ambient and frozen products in 184 of its smaller supermarkets. Instead, employees would restock ambient products between the hours of seven in the evening and midnight, and frozen products would be restocked between seven in the morning and one in the afternoon. The proposed adjustment would result in an increased number of coworkers being present on the sales floor throughout the store’s opening hours. It is based on previous tests that shown an increase in both the level of customer satisfaction and the number of products that were readily available.
If this suggestion is implemented, it could result in the elimination of up to 211 positions for night shift managers and a modification to the schedules of about 4,137 employees who are paid on an hourly basis. The number of hours that are available for coworkers to work in each store would remain the same under this proposal; however, the night shift premium that is paid to coworkers in addition to their regular hourly pay would be eliminated.
A decrease in the number of customers who use this service has led to Asda’s proposal to reduce the number of colleague hours by 22% across all 23 of its in-store Post Office locations. This is in addition to the shift modifications that are being considered. Additionally, four locations will have their hours of operation shortened to a little lesser extent. This would have an impact on 23 salaried Post Office Managers as well as 200 colleagues who are paid hourly.
The supermarket is considering closing 7 of its 254 in-store pharmacies due to low consumer usage, which would have an impact on 48 hourly-paid coworkers in addition to 14 pharmacists.
“The retail sector is evolving at a pace and it is vital that we review changing customer preferences, along with our own ways of working,” said Ken Towle, who is the Retail Director at Asda. “This is vital to ensure that we are operating as efficiently as possible, so that we can continue to invest and grow our business.” We are about to begin a phase in which we will consult with our other coworkers over these proposals. We are aware that this will be a challenging time for them, and we will do everything in our power to assist them while they go through this process.
